McAdoo makes impression, Iguodala makes exit

To secure his spot in the NBA, James McAdoo knows he’s going to have to catch the eye of at least one coach this month in the Las Vegas Summer League.

By Thursday, the rookie forward had the full attention of three.

With a couple of players seeking medical treatment, others packing up their gear and a handful more chatting along the sideline, McAdoo was smack dab in the middle of Warriors assistants Chris DeMarco, Bruce Fraser and Luke Walton.

The North Carolina product was absorbing every direction from the coaches and putting the orders immediately into practice.

“He’s quick,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s a quick jumper, active and smart. He picks up concepts very well. He has a chance to be a player in this league.”

The Warriors are about $6 million under the league’s luxury tax threshold and are on the lookout for bargains to fill out the final three spots on their roster. Just three years ago, it would have been laughable to think that McAdoo would come on the cheap, but that’s the situation he finds himself in today.

In 2011, McAdoo had just finished a decorated high school career at Norfolk Christian (Va.), was ranked among the nation’s top five prep players and accepted a scholarship to North Carolina. He was supposed to be the next Bob McAdoo, a second cousin who James McAdoo calls “Uncle Bob;” the next Harrison Barnes; maybe even the next Michael Jordan.

He ended up being simply the first James McAdoo, averaging 11.4 points on 44.7 percent shooting and 5.9 rebounds per game during his three seasons in Chapel Hill. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound, 21-year-old decided he was ready to embark on his pro career – following in the footsteps of his parents, who both played professionally overseas.

But McAdoo’s career was supposed to start in the NBA. More specifically with the NBA Draft. Sixty players heard their names called on draft night, but McAdoo wasn’t one of them.

“I would have loved to have gotten drafted, but I’m still out here playing the game I love,” McAdoo said. “I’m trying to make this roster, and this is a great opportunity with a great coaching staff. … I have faith in God, and I know that he has a purpose for everything. I’m finding myself in this situation, and it feels like a dream come true.”

Iguodala to miss U.S. Team training: Warriors small forward Andre Iguodala will miss the United States’ training camp at the end of the month as he recovers from a plasma-rich-platelet injection received in his bothersome right knee. Point guard Stephen Curry, power forward David Lee and shooting guard Klay Thompson are all expected to attend the training.